When Dwight Howard left Orlando for Los Angeles over the summer, it was supposed to mark the end of a frustrating chapter of his career with the Magic, and the beginning of a new, much more prosperous chapter with the Lakers.

Two month into the 2012-13 NBA season, that certainly hasn’t been the case.

Sure, Howard’s current season averages of 18.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game may not be far off his career averages, but the Lakers still sit in 12th in the Western Conference standings with a 12-14 record and D-12 simply hasn’t been himself at times through the first 16 games of the season.

For example, take last night’s nail biting 101-100 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. Sure, the Lakers came away with the win, but the fact that it was only a one point victory at home over a team with a 7-17 record must be a cause for some concern, right? Not to mention the fact that the game was highlighted by a botched open alley-oop by Howard, followed by an emphatic dunk by the Bobcats’ Gerald Henderson over the Lakers’ 6’11″ center.

Here’s a look at the failed finish on the alley-oop.

Kobe Bryant couldn’t have been happy about seeing a smile on Dwight’s face following that embarrassing debacle.

And then there was this:

To his credit, Howard did have four blocks on the night, but he didn’t appear to be even remotely interested in making it five on this dunk by Henderson. And realistically, he probably didn’t stand much of a chance anyway.

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